Many of us use the pasta madre for the sole purpose of making panettone. Many of us make panettone only for that few months around Christmas. Then we rest for a few months, before starting to strengthen our PM again for maybe Easter bake. Then we retire our PM again for a few months, and the whole process repeats for the next Christmas.
The PM can be kept in the fridge for a week up to a month. If kept for a week, feed it 1:2 at 40-43% water, tie it and let it ferment at room temperature for an hour before putting it in the fridge. To reactivate, remove the dried skin, cut into one inch pieces, perform bagnetto with warm water and do a warm refresh. For 2 weeks, feed 1:3, 3 weeks 1:4 and 1 month 1:5. It will take quite a few feedings before your PM can be restored. The longer you keep it in the fridge, the longer it'll take for your PM to return to its optimal shape.
I have powderized and frozen my PM before. I have unsuccessfully revived the frozen PM however. It was sad and grey, looking lifeless, literally like a corpse. So drying your PM is the safer way to go.
When your PM is healthy and strong, do a warm refresh. At its peak, take 100g from the core and add to it 100g flour. Put it in a processor and blend them together. It will be lumpy, so blend again until you get a finer powder. It wasn't easy and I didn't try that hard. Lay it out on a parchment paper and let it air dry. Once it has dried, the little lumps will feel hard. I put it in the processor again and blitz it. To store, transfer it to an airtight container or a ziplock bag. Keep it in the fridge until you want to revive it. I have kept it for about 3 months, and it was revived in a few days. Not strong, but at least it was alive.
Day 1
Take 100g of the blitzed PM and mix it with 50g water. Leave it at about 23-25C for 24 hours. It'll smell a bit funky FYI. You will still have 100g so keep it in the ziplock bag and back into the fridge. It's backup.
Day 2
There is absolutely no activity, but I fed it again 1:1:0.4. Leave it at 23-25C again until you see it double. That should take about 12 hours or more. When I revived mine, I also put it at 18C and in total it took 24 hours. I was already very happy it was alive, unlike my PM that was frozen. Now, the PM starts to smell like itself again.
Day 3
I fed it again 1:1:0.4 and put it in the chiller 18C for 24 hours. pH is beginning to look good. So, it's back to regular maintenance until PM is strong again.
Easy, right? Happy baking!
Lily
Lily, you mentioned above, if kept for a week, feed it 1:2 at 40-43% water, tie it and let it ferment at room temperature for an hour before putting it in the fridge. Thats if for …….100g PM:200g flour at 80-86g water, and fridge means 3-4c, right? Thanks again for your help And sharing your experience.